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Great Expectations 3: Happily Ever After?

This video excerpt is the moving, final scene from the 2012 MASTERPIECE adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations. Pip, returned to his humble origins, hears that Estella, now a widow, has retuned to Satis House. As he approaches the ruined house, he sees a face in the upper window, much as he had when he first visited as a boy. He removes his hat, and waits. Inside, Estella descends the staircase and emerges from the door. Pip and Estella take each other’s hands and bow their heads together. No words are spoken as the film ends.

Great Expectations was written in 1860–1861, appearing weekly in the journal All the Year Round. Like David Copperfield, which was written 10 years earlier, it is a semi-autobiographical novel, but it is considered a more mature, yet darker novel. This is clearly evident in the controversial ending.

In the original ending, Pip and Estella meet by chance on a London street. “I had heard of her as leading a most unhappy life,” Pip says, “and as being separated from her husband who had used her with great cruelty…” She is now married to a country doctor (her husband having died), and stops her carriage to speak with Pip: “I am greatly changed, I know; but I thought you would like to shake hands with Estella, too, Pip.” They part ways, and Pip reflects, “I was very glad afterwards to have had the interview; for, in her face and in her voice, and in her touch, she gave me the assurance, that suffering had been stronger than Miss Havisham's teaching, and had given her a heart to understand what my heart used to be.”

When Dickens showed this conclusion to fellow writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton, his friend was dismayed. Bulwer-Lytton insisted that readers would want to see Pip and Estella reunited. Dickens took his friend’s advice and rewrote the final scene. George Bernard Shaw pronounced the new ending as “beautifully touching and exactly right.” But As Norrie Epstein writes in The Friendly Dickens, it is hardly a conventional happy ending. “Restraining his sentimental tendencies, Dickens made the ending as sad as a happy ending could be.”

In the revised ending, Pip returns to where Satis House once stood: “There was no house now; no brewery, no building whatever left, out the wall of the old garden…A gate in the fence standing ajar, I pushed it open, and went in.” He meets the widowed Estella, who tells him, “…I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape. Be as considerate and good to me as you were, and tell me we are friends.” Pip replies, “We are friends,” and Estella responds, “And will continue friends apart.” They leave together, hand-in-hand, “out of the ruined place; and, as the morning mists had risen long ago when I first left the forge, so, the evening mists were rising now, and in all the broad expanse of tranquil light they showed to me, I saw the shadow of no parting from her.” In an 1862 publication, Dickens changed the very last line again to: “I saw no shadow of another parting from her.”

In the original ending, poor Pip’s “great expectations” are no more. He has to work hard to earn a living, he may never marry (and certainly not to Estella), and his heart is irrevocably damaged. Scholars have argued not only about which ending was “truer” to the book, but about both of the ambiguous revised “happy” endings. Why was Dickens so vague about the future of these important characters? Did it reflect a more pessimistic viewpoint, a growing uncertainty about life, or his feelings about love after the scandalous break-up of his 22-year marriage? And why did he so easily bow to pressure to change the ending? In a letter, Dickens described the new ending: “I have put in as pretty a little piece of writing as I could, and I have not doubt that the story will be more acceptable through the alteration.”

Having grown up in poverty, Dickens was always concerned about financial success and popularity. As one of the most famous authors of his time, Dickens was well aware of the power of his fans and the importance of keeping them satisfied. Writing for weekly or monthly serials, he often ended his installments with cliffhangers to make sure readers kept coming back. How much did the “expectations” of his readers, or their perceived desire for a happy ending, affect his choices? The debate surrounding the multiple endings of Great Expectations not only raises essential questions about the intention and meaning of art, but the lasting impact of one of Dickens’s greatest works.

Like their beginnings, the endings of Charles Dickens’s novels are vivid, heartfelt, and masterfully written. The ending of Great Expectations has always been controversial. Dickens himself changed the original ending to be a somewhat happier one, but it remains ambiguous. By watching this video excerpt, students view how the filmmakers have interpreted the final scene. To deepen their understanding of Dickens, and to explore his relevance today, students read two essays: Charles Dickens: Biography (PDF) and ref_asset show_format="false" code="gtexp12_doc_staytuned" display="inline"/>, which compares Dickens to primetime television writers. They then explore Dickens’s original and revised ending, and examine how writing in installments affected his work.

Since this resource involves the very last scene of Great Expectations, you may want to use it concurrently with students’ reading of the novel, or after you have completed the book in class.

Before watching the video:

Have students read Charles Dickens: Biography (PDF) for background information. You may want to ask students to do additional research on Dickens’s life and how his experiences affected his outlook and his writing (depending on how many, if any, Dickens works they have studied).

Have students share with the class what they have discovered about Dickens and his life. Ask students to report on what they have learned, in particular, about how Dickens wrote. Ask, "How did the fact that Dickens wrote in installments for serialized publications affect his writing style, plots, and characterization?"

Introduce the essay by Howard Cutler, Stay Tuned: The Rise of the Killer Serial (PDF). Explain that in the essay, Cutler compares Dickens to today’s television writers who must capture the public’s attention and devotion from week to week. Brainstorm with students a list of programs they regularly watch. Which shows are the most popular or have the most devoted fans? What makes them so appealing?

After students read the essay, ask questions to check for their understanding. Ask students whether or not they agree with the essay’s thesis. Why or why not? Ask, "How have newer technologies, such as mobile devices, changed the way we watch television? Do you think serialized dramas or reality shows will continue to exist in the future? Why or why not?"

Explain that the ending of Great Expectations was changed several times by Dickens, and has always been controversial. Ask students to speculate on why and how it was changed.

While watching the video:

As they watch, ask students to carefully observe the setting, the sequence of camera shots, and the expressions on the actors’ faces. They may want to take notes as they watch, or watch the video more than once.

After watching the video:

Ask students what they noticed in the scene. How do they interpret the ending? What future do they predict for Pip and Estella?

Have students read the excerpt from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Chapter XX (PDF)—the original ending, the revised ending, and the second small change that Dickens made. Compare and contrast the endings as written by Dickens and the ending in the film.

Ask, "Why do you think Dickens changed the ending?" Share with them more details, as needed, behind Dickens’s rewrite. Discuss how Dickens’s choices were affected by the fact that he wrote in installments. Ask, "How do you think Dickens would have liked the film’s ending?"

In small groups, have students decide which ending they think best fits the story and why. Ask them to consider not only which one they liked better, but which one best suits the characters and the plot.

Have the groups share their findings with the class. You may want to graph the results.

To extend the lesson, tell students they are responsible for a brand-new film version of Great Expectations. Which ending would they choose? Have students "pitch" their version, write the script, storyboard the scene, or act it out.

For more about how to use MASTERPIECE to help you teach Charles Dickens, see the MASTERPIECE Teacher’s Guides, which contain discussion questions, activities, and background information. Teaching Dickens explores Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Little Dorrit, and The Old Curiosity Shop. An individual guide is provided for A Tale of Two Cities. You may also wish to use the resources in the Charles Dickens Book and Film Club.

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